Shipped educational VR simulations on cellular biology for middle school students guiding them to build and dissect living cells, control the stages of mitosis, specialize their cells, and more.
Research Labs: CREATE Lab, Future Reality Lab NYU
Client/Funder: Verizon
My contributions:
3D design, animations, technical art (materials, shaders, particles), Blueprints (UE4), UI and interaction design
A virtual classroom full of futuristic technology to deliver the most engaging educational simulations. I was responsible for a lot of the 3D asset production (modelling, UVs, PBR texturing, rigging, animation, lighting and materials) as well as performance optimization (draw calls, polycount, rendering, etc.).
Whether that be manipulating an organelle, flattening the entire cell, or dissolving a membrane - I used different methods to create interactive animations and visuals. Each interaction required different approaches to achieve the desired outcome.
I prototyped interactions and level designs using Blueprints in UE 4.27. This allowed me to control material parameters programmatically, make level design tools, add interactivity to menus, cast events from the simulation controllers, and more.
Non-digetic UI includes panels, sliders, buttons, etc; while Digetic UI includes tools like spray bottle (to activate cells), vacuum gun (to delete objects), splatoon gun (to paint on surfaces) and wristwatch (to open the menu).